[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 13]
[House]
[Page 17411]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 GUARANTEEING ALL AMERICANS HEALTH CARE

  (Mr. KUCINICH asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, one of the tragic and laughable conceits 
of the entire health care debate is that people love their for-profit 
health insurance companies, so hands off the private insurers.
  These are the same insurance companies whose premiums, copays and 
deductibles are forcing millions of Americans into poverty. Sixty 
percent of all U.S. bankruptcies are tied to people not being able to 
pay their hospital bills, and most of these people were insured. But 
people love their insurance companies.
  Now, everyone knows that insurance companies make money not providing 
health care. But people love their insurance companies, so we have to 
leave them in the game, right?
  People love for-profit insurers, so government ought to give the 
insurance companies a bailout and subsidize private insurers, because 
people love their insurance companies, right?
  Well, I don't think that people love for-profit insurance. I think 
people want a not-for-profit system that guarantees all Americans 
health care.

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